c    . 


ONIVERSf 


VI 


VOLUME  VI 


DELAWARE  COLLEGE  BULLETIN 


NEW  SERIES 


PUBLISHED  QUARTERLY 


NUMBER  IV 


Suggestions  for  Note  Taking 


PREPARED  BY 

EZRA  KEMPTON  MAXFIELD 

Instructor  in  English 


PUBLISHED  BY  DELAWARE  COLLEGE 


DECEMBER,  1910 


Entered  June  22,  1904,  at  Newark.  Delaware,  as  second-class  matter,  under  Act  of 

Congress  of  July  16,  1894. 


NOTE  TAKING 


NEWARK  POST 
Newark,  Delaware 


. 


INTRODUCTION 

A  well  known  Harvard  professor  has  said  that  to  his  mind  nothing 
seems  more  like  the  eating  of  dry  sawdust  than  the  perusal  of  his  own 
lectures  as  served  up  to  him  in  the  form  of  students'  examination  books. 
He  might  well  have  added  "unless  it  be  the  notes  from  which  they  prepare 
for  examinations,"  because  there  is  a  very  vital  connection  between  the 
note-book  and  the  examination  book.  We  would  not  go  so  far  as  to  say 
that  all  failures  in  examination  are  due  to  poor  notetaking,  but  we  do  main- 
tain, by  actual  observation,  that  a  great  many  unsatisfactory  answers  can 
be  directly  traced  to  the  note  book.  When  the  great  reckoning  time  of 
the  year  comes  around  students  have  oftentimes  to  rely  upon  the  poorest 
apologies  for  what  has  been  discussed  either  in  the  lectures  or  in  the  col- 
lateral reading.  Nor  do  amateurs  at  notetaking  always  know  that  their 
notes   are  imperfect  until  they  learn  from  bitter  experience. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  hardworking  students  will  come  to  an 
instructor  after  an  examination,  surprised  and  not  a  little  hurt  because 
their  grades  are  not  what  they  think  that  they  deserve.  "I  don't  see  why 
this  grade  is  not  a  B  instead  of  a  C."  a  man  will  say,  as  he  produces  an 
examination  book  bristling  with  corrections.  "Why  is  not  this  answer 
right?"  and  "What's  the  matter  with  that  one?"  If  the  instructor  explains 
patiently  in  detail  in  what  respect  the  answers  are  deficient  perhaps  the 
student  will  say,  "Well,  that  is  the  way  I  have  it  in  my  notebook,"  as  if 
that  should  be  an  end  of  the  whole  matter.  An  inspection  of  his  notes  will 
indeed  show  that  he  speaks  truly.  The  errors  are  there,  the  same  serious 
errors  that  fell  under  the  ban  of  the  blue  pencil;  errors  of  the  ear,  eye, 
apprehension,  at  best  poor  maimed  echoes  of  our  lectures.  The  notes 
themselves  are  "fir}-  sawdust"  because  they  do  not  represent  the  work 
they  stand  for.  What  then  may  we  expect  of  the  examination  prepared 
from  such  notes? 

Poor  notes  are  dear  at  any  cost.  Most  men  learn  this  fact  sooner  or 
later,  to  their  sorrow.  It  is  in  order  that  some  conscientious  undergrad- 
uates may  be  spared  the  humiliation  and  disappointment  of  failure  before 
they  have  learned  the  art  of  notetaking  for  themselves  that  this  pamphlet 
is  prepared.  It  does  not  seem  wise  to  attempt  to  lay  down  any  very 
stringent  rules  ()n  the  subject.  We  can  only  suggest  the  more  general 
methods  from  which  every  man  can  work  out  his  own  particular  system. 

In  the  first  place  let  us  have  no  delusions  about  notetaking  itself.  It 
should  not  be  regarded  as  an  important  exercise  for  its  own  sake,  though 
something  might  be  said  on  that  score;  nor  a  mere  traditional  practice  of 
college  men  that  could  be  dispensed  with;  nor  yet,  as  one  writer  has  sug- 
gested, a  diversion  for  mischievous  minds  which  might  be  troublesome. 
Notes  are  quite  as  prosaic  necessities  as  the  piece  of  string  whicn  the 
thoughtful  wife  ties  around  the  finger  of  the  absent-minded  man  to  remind 
him  of  the  letter  he  is  to  mail  or  of  the  silk  he  is  to  match.  The  universal 
recognition  of  the  need  for  notetaking  is  a  tacit  admission  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  human  mind.  Tt  goes  without  saying  that  were  one  able  to  re- 
call at  will  every  fact  or  theory  to  which  one's  attention  has  been  called 
there  would  be  no  necessity  for  taking  notes.  And  those  rare  and  fortu- 
nate minds  which  need  no  helps  to  memory  can  profit  far  more  by  what 
they  hear  or  by  what  they  read  if  they  are  not   hampered   by  notetaking. 


As  for  the  man  who  will  not  pay  attention  to  the  work  in  class  without  a 
.diversion  the  less  that  we  can  say  the  better.  To  take  notes  one  must  pay 
strict  attention  to  business,  especially  in  the  case  of  a  lecture.  Even  then 
there  is  bound  to  be  some  sacrifice  in  the  effect  of  the  discourse;  the  mind 
.cannot  wholly  be  occupied  with  the  thought  of  the  lecture  while  it  is  analyz- 
ing it  into  notes.  But  this  is  better  than  the  loss  of  a  large  part  of  the 
discussion  later  through  forgetfulness.  The  moral  is  then  to  take  notes 
and   take  good   notes,   as   a   pure  matter  of  business. 

Let  us   consider  the   practice   of  note  taking   under  two   main  heads: 
notes  on  lectures,  and  notes  on  reading. 

NOTES  ON   LECTURES 

As  someone  has  pointed  out,  the  college  lecture  has  not  altogether 
the  importance  it  once  had;  not  but  that  it  is  still  a  necessity,  because  we 
could  hardly  dispense  with  it,  but,  rather,  that  it  has  been  relegated  to  a 
more  secondary  position  by  the  increase  in  collateral  reading.  A  few  de- 
cades ago  college  libraries  were  maintained  for  the  almost  exclusive  use 
of  the  professor  and  the  graduate  student.  Not  only  were  books  too  rare 
and  costly  for  promiscuous  handling  by  the  "vulgar"  undergraduate,  but 
fris  crude  mind  was  not  considered  sufficiently  developed  to  be  able  to 
appreciate  the  great  works  of  science  and  literature  at  first  hand.  It  was 
still  an  age  of  theoretical  knowledge  so  far  as  the  undergraduate  was  con- 
cerned. The  student  had  to  take  his  learning  as  it  fell  as  drops  of  wisdom 
from  the  lips  of  a  gray-bearded  sage.  He  must  accept  a  fact  because  a 
professor  said  it  was  a  fact.  The  college  lecture,  aside  from  the  religious 
use  of  a  few  tests,  was  the  one  source  of  undergraduate  learning.  Thus  a 
failure  to  obtain  good  notes  might,  very  likely,  mean  a  greater  calamity 
to  the  student  than  it  does  now. 

Today   our  libraries   are  not  only  available   to  the  undergraduate  but 
they  are  full  of  books,   edited  texts,  critical  works  of  various  kinds,   and 
even  discussions  of  the  very  topics  considered  in  the  lectures,  so  that  it  is 
quite  possible  for  a  bright  student  who  keeps  his  ears  open  during  lectures 
■and   who   uses   discrimination   in   his    collateral   reading,   to    dispense   with 
notes  in  class.     But  even  if  the  field  be  well  covered  in  the  collateral  read- 
ing, notes  are  yet  important,  by  virtue  of  the  personality  of  the  lecturer. 
No  two  men  ever  approach  the   same  subject  quite  the   same   way.     Few 
lecturers  lay  emphasis  in  altogether  the  same  directions.    The  limits  of  the 
•  same  field  may  vary  with  different  scholars.     Names  of  periods,  question- 
able dates,  any  statement  yet  in  doubt  subject  to  theory  or  hypothesis,  will 
-receive  the  individual  stamp  of  the  lecturer.     If  for  nothing   else  a  man 
'.should  take  notes  to  get  the  lecturer's  point  of  view. 

The  Freshman  before  he  comes  to  college  usually  has  not  experienced 
the  lecture  as  a  means  of  obtaining  knowledge.  He  enters  the  lecture 
room  with  but  little  idea  of  what  is  expected  of  him.  He  perhaps  has  been 
told  to  get  a  certain  kind  of  notebook  and  a  special  kind  of  pen  or  pencil, 
but  they  are  poor  tools  in  his  hand.  Without  a  few  suggestions  he  appears 
all  at  sea  through  the  first  few  lectures.  Every  lecturer  will  proceed  in 
his  own  way,  which  may  vary  from  a  deliberate  easy-going  talk  more  or 
less  extempore  from  meagre  notes,  or  from  no  notes  at  all,  to  the  glibly- 
read  composition  carefully  prepared  beforehand  from  an  outline  complete 
to  "sub  f's  and  g's."  In  about  eight  cases  out  of  ten  the  early  notes  of  the 
Freshman  are  not  worth  the  paper  they  are  written  on.     He  begins  invar- 


iably  by  attempting  to  take  the  lecturer's  words  verbatim,  and  after  Eisner 
frantic  attempts  to  do  the  impossible,  in  which  process  he  loses  the  half  of 
many  sentences,  the  whole  of  almost  every  thought,  and  wastes  untold 
nervous  energy,  besides,  in  laboriously  scrawling  down  a  fine-sounding 
sentence  here  and  there,  he  begins  to  feel  the  overwhelming  sense  of  help- 
lessness and  despair,  not  to  say  disgust  for  the  work  itself,  which  corner 
from  inability  to  keep  up  with  the  class. 

Now  successful  note  taking  from  a  lecture  means  especially  the  exer- 
cise of  judgment.    The  lecturer  has  a  certain  number  of  basic  facts  at  hancS,. 
from  which  he  works  out  each  point.    He  goes  into  sufficient  detail  to  make- 
the  fundamental  points  plain.     Departing  from  these  from  time  to  time  he 
advances  theories  and  illustrates  at  will.     He  usually  works  from  an  out- 
line logically  arranged.     If  one  listens  attentively  one  will  usually  be  able 
to  distinguish  this  outline.     In  order  to  do  this  the  student  should  be  as- 
little  conscious  of  self  as  possible  so  as  to  have  his  mind  free.    That  is,  his 
mind   should  be   so  intent  upon  the  work  as  presented   by  the  instructor 
that   his    own   personality    is,    for   the    time,    foi  gotten.      He    must    not   be 
thinking  what  he  is  going  to  do  with  the  holiday  he  will  have  tomorrow,  or 
what  he  will  wear  to  the  party  tonight;  he  should  not  even  see  the  pencil 
and  the  notebook  except  with  the  same  subconscious  eye  he  views  all  fami- 
liar objects;  the  very  act  of  writng  should  be  as  unconscious  as  the  act  oi 
walking.     He  also  must  learn  to  think  automatically.     He  must  not  be  con- 
fused or  led  astray  by  the  words,  phrases,  or  fine-sounding  sentences  with 
which  the   speaker  clothes  his  thought.     His   mind   must  be  alert  for  the 
thought  itself.     As  soon  as  the  student  learns  this  fact  the  art  is  fully  half 
mastered. 

The  first  injunction  is  then:  Do  not  try  to  take  the  lecture  verbatim. 
Let  the  fine  words  and  phrases  go.  Their  effect  should  be  unconscious. 
Look  behind  them  for  the  thought.  It  may  sometimes  be  summed  up  in 
very  small  space.  Take  for  example  a  paragraph  from  a  lecture  on  "The- 
Bible  as  Literature." 

"It  is  not  our  purpose  this  morning  to  quarrel  with  the  faith  of  saints- 
and  the  holy  minded.     Whatever  the  beliefs,  so  long  as  they  bring  their 
owners   comfort   and   peace,   they  are  blessed   and  beyond   reproach.     We- 
shall  not  argue  the  point  concerning  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible;  what  it 
is,  whether   God  literally   guiding   the   pen  of  a  consecrated   servant  or  a» 
noble   and    devout   believer    writing   a   doctrine    so    high    and   noble    as    to» 
seem  really  on  a  level  with  the  Divine  Mind,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  say. 
This  much  will  suffice  us,  that  the  sacred  words,  whatever  the  extent  of  the 
inspiration,  were  at  least  transcribed  by  the  hand  of  man,  and  we  have  ai 
habit  of  calling  the  written  works  of  man,  when  of  sufficient  merit,  litera- 
ture.    So  the  Bible  is  literature." 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  lecturer  is  forestalling  any  false  im- 
pressions of  his  purpose,  which  might  exist  in  the  minds  of  his  class.  No1 
real  facts  are  stated.  The  paragraph  is  important  as  an  introduction  tc: 
convey  an  impression  of  neutrality.  In  the  student's  notebook  all  that  i* 
necessary  is  a  single  sentence,  which  might  read  as  follows: 

Purpose: — to  treat  the   Bible  purely  as  literature,  apart  from  any  re- 
ligious significance,  since  the  actual  transcription  was  by  the  hand  of  man. 

In  order  to  show  how  important  it  is  to  follow  the  lecture,  to  get  the 
relation  of  points,  to  keep  the  point  of  view  of  the  lecturer  distinct,  let  uav 


s 


6 

take  another  succinct  example.     The  following  quotation  is  from  William 
Black's  "Goldsmith." 

"Of  course  a  very  dark  picture  might  be  drawn  of  Goldsmith's  life; 
and  the  sufferings  that  he  undoubtedly  endured  have  been  made  a  whip 
with  which  to  lash  the  ingratitude  of  a  world  not  too  quick  to  recognize 
the  claims  of  genius.  He  has  been  put  before  us  without  the  brighter 
lights  to  the  picture,  as  the  most  unfortunate  of  poor  devils;  the  heart- 
broken usher;  the  hack  ground  down  by  sordid  booksellers;  the  starving 
occupant  of  successive  garrets.  This  is  the  aspect  of  Goldsmith's  career 
which  naturally  attracts  Mr.   Forster." 

Now  this  is  said  .not  from  Mr.  Black's  point  of  view  at  all,  but  from 
that  of  Forster,  whom  he  is  .quoting.  If  the  student  fails  to  note  the  state- 
ment "This  is  the  aspect  of  Goldsmith's  career  which  naturally  attracts 
Mr.  Forster,"  he  may  be  trapped  into  stating  Mr.  Forster's  extreme  views 
as  those  of  Mr.  Black.  In  the  same  manner  the  author,  a  little  later,  gives 
the  hypothetical  opinion  of  a  Japanese  student,  which  paints  the  opposite 
extreme  of  Goldsmith.  Without  the  notes  which  index  the  relation  to 
Mr.  Black's  view  the  notebook  might  present  most  startling  incongruities, 
but  not  more  startling  than  those  which  students  are  responsible  for  in 
every  examination. 

It  will  not  be  sufficient,  however,  to  look  for  the  individual  thoughts 
alone.  It  is  necessary  that  the  student  be  alert  to  reason  as  the  speaker 
reasons.  It  is  very  dangerous  to  jot  down  the  results  of  reasoning  if  you 
have  not  followed  it  in  your  own  mind.  The  probability  is  that  you  will 
get  it  all  wrong.  It  is  important  to  get  the  point,  every  point,  and  its  logi- 
cal connection  in  the  discourse.  Sum  up  every  point  and  put  it  down  in 
the  order  given,  but  be  sure  you  get  it  right.  If  possible  make  your  head- 
ings as  you  go.  If  circumstance  will  not  permit,  you  can  insert  them 
later  in  the  margin  of  your  page.  The  ideal  way,  of  course,  is  to  have 
your  lecture  so  well  in  hand  as  to  be  able  to  subordinate  each  idea  to  its 
proper  head.  Some  lecturers,  even  of  international  reputation,  are  care- 
less of  their  thought  sequence  and  deliver  their  ideas  in  such  a  disordered 
way  that  it  is  impossible,  even  for  an  expert,  to  take  logical  notes  from 
them.  The  only  thing  to  do  in  that  case  is  to  t?„ke  down  every  point  as  it 
comes  and  rearrange  all  of  the  points  later.  Fortunately,  however,  you 
will  find  most  lectures  logical  in  outline,  and  the  main  heads  will  be  ob- 
vious as  the  student  gets  into  the  spirit  of  taking  good  notes. 

In  summing  up  our  more  general  directions  we  might  reduce  them  to 
the  following-  fundamental  principles: 

First.  The  student  should  become  as  little  conscious  of  his  notebook 
as  possible,  that  his  mind  may  act  reflexively;  that  is,  from  habit,  automati- 
cally. 

Second.  He  should  be  always  on  the  alert  to  get  every  important 
point  in  the  lecture,  but  he  must  avoid  verbatim  notes  when  they  lead  him 
astray  from  the  point.  He  must  be  careful  that  there  are  no  half  truths  on 
liis  paffe.     Half  truths  make  a  student  ridiculous  in  an  examination  book. 

Third.  He  must  follow  the  reasoning  of  the  lecturer;  he  must  reason 
as  th»e  lecturer  reasons,  through  scientific,  sociological,  or  purely  mathe- 
matical  problems   and   deductions. 

Fourth.     He   must  have   a   sense   of  values,   to  be   able   to   distinguish 
between   a  truth  stated  as   such  and  a  mere  hypothesis   or  theory;   to  b 
able  to  subordinate  a  minor  point  or  subtopic  to  its  relative  place. 


e 


Fifth.  Above  all,  he  must  take  the  position  of  the  lecturer  and  see  the 
subject  from  his  point  of  view,  as  much  as  possible;  in  order  that  he  may 
really  see  the  significance  of  the  lecture  as  a  whole. 

What  we  have  said  thus  far  relates  to  notetaking  in  general. 
These  few  suggestipns  will,  we  think,  be  found  equally  serviceable  for 
almost  all  subjects,  Physics,  Chemistry,  Mathematics,  History,  English, 
etc.  The  exact  method  of  procedure  may  be  left  to  thfe  individual,  at  this 
point,  to  work  out  for  himself.  The  fairly  specific  suggestions  which  fol- 
low now  will,  however,  prove  of  value.  We  recommend  that  the  Fresh- 
man, at  least,  take  his  class-room  notes  with  the  idea  of  rewriting  them 
later.  Many  men  are  too  busy  or  too  indolent  to  bother  with  their  notes 
out  of  class  until  it  is  time  to  prepare  for  examination,  and  necessity  urges 
them  on.  By  such  men  who  approach  their  notes  when  "cold",  more  care 
must  be  taken  in  the  lecture  room  because  when  they  write  their  notes  for 
the  first  time  they  write  them  for  all  time.  After  the  interval  of  weeks 
and  months  one's  own  notes  are  almost  the  notes  of  a  strange  hand.  They 
are  cold  and  bare,  stripped  of  the  glamour  which  the  lecturer's  words  cast 
about  them.  They  must  read  sensibly,  logically,  and  must  be  easily  deci- 
phered. Men  who  never  rewrite  their  notes  must  of  necessity  take  fuller 
notes  than  the  man  who  intends  to  rewrite  them  while  the  inspiration  of 
the  subject  is  keen,  while  the  words  of  the  lecturer  are  yet  ringing  in  his 
ears.  They  are  placing  a  great  responsibilit}-  upon  these  notes,  more  than 
they  may  realize.  While  the  impressions  of  the  lectures  are  vivid  in  one's 
mind  the  notes  appear  in  a  state  of  completeness  which  they  do  not  actually 
possess,  like  the  lines  of  the  child  on  the  ground  glass  slate,  colored  and 
sustained  in  detail  by  the  perfection  of  the  copy  behind  the  glass,  which 
when  the  model  is  removed  show  themselves  in  their  true  crudeness.  It 
requires  skill  to  make  them  mean  much  to  you  when  the  freshness  is  gone. 
The  inexperienced  man  had  better  plan  to  rewrite  his  notes,  and  even  the 
advanced  student  will  find  many  advantages  in  the  system.  Those  men  who 
think  that  their  time  is  too  valuable  for  rewriting  do  not  realize  that  in 
the  end  they  may  save  time  by  the  "longer  way  home."  In  the  first  place, 
if  a  student  revises  his  notes  immediately  after  a  lecture  he  can  not  only 
make  their  final  form  legible,  more  interesting  by  virtue  of  complete  words 
and  sentences,  but  he  can  also  fill  in  a  great  many  points  between  the  lines, 
from  memory.  Thus  his  notes  will  be  legible,  interesting  and  complete, 
and  more  than  this,  the  process  of  rewriting  wll  fix  the  various  points  much 
better  in  his  mind  at  a  time  when  it  is  most  susceptible  to  them,  than  any 
study  from  cold  notes  can  do.  The  preparation  for  examination  is  thus 
made  simple.  Moreover,  since  one  does  not,  by  this  plan,  have  to  take  so 
full  notes  in  class  they  will  in  the  end  be  more  logical  and  give  more  leis- 
ure in  the  classroom  for  the  appreciation  and  enjoyment  of  the  lecture. 

In  courses  which  involve  the  use  of  mathematical  equations  great  care 
should  be  taken  that  every  step  in  the  process  of  reasoning  be  noted. 
Problems  from  the  board  or  from  dictation  must  be  accurate.  All  expla- 
nations, formal  and  informal,  of  a  figure,  a  diagram,  a  machine,  or  a  piece 
of  apparatus,  should  be  taken  down.  One  never  knows  when  they  may  be 
required.  Chemical  equations,  computations,  reactions  from  the  experi- 
mental work  in  the   lecture,   must  be  carefully  worked   out. 

In  some  cases  when  the  classroom  discussion  centers  around  particular 
words,  sentences,  or  around  figures  and  problems  in  the  text  book,  it  may 
be  well  to  take  the  notes  directly  in  the  text  book,  either  on  the  margins, 
between  the  leaves,  or  on  insert-leaves  which  book-shops  sell  for  that  pur- 


8 

pose.  Such  notes  are  very  convenient  in  literature  courses  of  all  languages, 
science,  and  in  mathematics.  They  are  particularly  desirable  in  the  case 
of  an  extensive  study  of  the  text,  such  as  Shakspere,  Bacon,  Milton. 

It  may  be  well  to  arrange  beforehand  a  system  of  abbreviations  so 
that  time  may  be  saved  while  you  are  "under  fire."  It  should  be  properly 
a  definite  system  so  that  there  may  be  no  confusion  in  reading  the  notes 
later.  It  may  be  an  advantage  to  learn  shorthand,  as  many  do,  and  take 
the  notes  verbatim,  but  there  really  is  no  necessity  for  taking  entire  lec- 
tures; in  fact  lectures  may  be  a  disadvantage  because  they  make  more 
work  to  be  gone  over.  It  is  surprising  how  proficient  one  may  become  in 
the  use  of  one's  own  abbreviated  longhand.  If  certain  letters  or  syllables 
stand  for  the  same  word  or  expression  every  time  the  notes  may  be  both 
full  and  legible.  Thus  "b,"  with  date,  is  "born"  and  "d"  is  "died";  "dif" 
is  "different  from";  "lit"  is  "literature";  "Shak"  is  "Shakspere";  "gov" 
is  "governor;"  "govt"  is  "government";  "cal"  is  "calculate";  "cur"  is 
"current";  "org"  is  "organic"  or  "organism";  "prep"  is  "precipitate"; 
"dec"  is  "decant";  "f"  is  "filter";  "comp"  is  "compound";  "H"  is 
"Hydrogen";  "dyn"  is  "dynamo",  or  "dynamic";  "dn"  is  "dyne",  etc., 
without  end.  You  need  not  be  particular  about  grammar  or  completeness. 
There  is  no  limitation  save  clearness  and  accuracy.  One  must  be  able  to 
read  the  notes  later. 

One,  perhaps  extreme,  example  of  the  use  of  this  system  might  read 
as  follows: 

100  pts  Fe2  CI  6  diss  63.5  pts  H2O  equals  liq  sp  g  1.67,  25  degrees; 
solid  to  yel  crys  mass  equals  Fe  2  CI  6  plus  12  H  2  O 

Translated  they  read: 

When  ioo  parts  of  ferric  chloride  are  dissolved  in  63.5  parts  of  water  a 
liquid  is  obtained  which  has  a  specific  gravity  of  1.67  at  25  degrees,  and 
this  solidifies  to  a  yellow  crystalline  mass,  having  the  composition  of 
Fe2C16  plus  12  H2O." 

But  good  notes  are  not  always  a  guarantee  against  imperfect  knowl- 
edge. Many  students  who  take  very  acceptable  notes  do  not  know  how 
to  get  the  most  out  of  them  when  preparing  for  examination.  This  is  es- 
pecially true  of  those  men  whose  notes  are  especially  full.  Full  notes  may 
become  embarrassing  if  they  are  not  handled  properly,  because  the  eye 
must  search  over  a  wide  field  to  obtain  the  facts.  An  excellent  way  to 
make  the  important  points  stand  out  is  to  read  the  entire  set  of  notes  very 
carefully,  underlining  the  more  vital  points  in  red  ink.  Such  a  method  will 
make  them  stand  out  from  the  rest  and  give  the  eye  a  scale  of  values  more 
easily  remembered. 

One  even  better  plan  is  to  get  regular  library  index  cards  and,  after 
the  lecture  is  fairly  well  learned,  transfer  the  points  underlined  to  them,  one 
card  to  a  lecture.  These  cards  can  be  carried  about  and  studied  at  odd 
moments.  One  is  enabled  by  their  use  to  get  the  perspective  view  of  the 
lecture  which  brings  out  the  sense  of  values  which  one  loses  when  one 
studies  the  notes  in  their  mass  of  detail  only.  With  the  skeleton  in  mind 
one  has  little  difficulty  in  recalling  the  details.  Thus  one  of  these  cards 
might  read  as  given  below. 

Thomas  Dekker,  1569  -  ? 
1.     Tempestuous   life.     2.     Broad   sympathy  with  lower   strata   of  society. 
3.     Genuine  Realism.     4.     Modern  attitude — love  story.     5.     Realized  that 


9 

story  of  manners  could  only  fringe  to  central  story.  6.  Some  feeling  fof 
dramatic  structure.  6.  Superb  dramatic  economy  in  "Shoemaker's  Holi- 
day"— gets  all  amusement  out  of  story — no  figures  outside  Shak.  more 
truly  humorous  than  Shoemaker  &  Wife.  8.  Great  sympathy  for  women 
who  suffer  from  brutality  of  husbands. 

These  are  actual  notes  of  an  actual  lecture  boiled  down  to  the  mere 
major  points. 

Another  card  sums  up  a  lecture  on  Shakespeare's  "Titus  Andronicus" 


f  Titus  Vespasian    1  2  old  plays  come 
j  Titus  Andronicus  -into  possession 

Titus  Adronicus,  1594  Sources  j  one  Dutch,  other  J  of  the  company 

Great  puzzle — really  melodrama —  [  German 


up  to  third  act  moves  swiftly  &  compactly — 2  plays  crowded  into  one — ■ 
hence  loses  unity — incidents  unrelated  brought  together — Shak,  writing 
for  public  which  had  enjoyed  Spanish  Tragedy — this  less  brutal,  less  ef- 
fective— could  not  go  far  in  characterization — enriched  poetic  expression 
where  possible — Hence  Shak,  by  1594,  competent  in  melodrama — able  to 
use  many  incidents  effectively  where  previously  difficulty  in  plotting  at  all, 

It  is  not  a  bad  plan  for  two  or  more  students  to  meet  at  stated  inter- 
vals and  compare  their  notes.  The  lecture  can  be  discussed  so  that  the 
points  omitted  or  not  fully  understood  can  be  placed  correctly  in  the  note- 
book against  the  final  test.  The  chance  for  error  is  greatly  decreased  in 
this  way  and,  besides,  the  discussion  greatly  aids  the  memory  so  that  the 
work  of  studying  from  the  notes  is  lessened.  In  at  least  one  instance  where 
the  speaker  delivered  his  lecture  very  rapidly  several  students  arranged 
to  take  his  points  in  relays;  that  is,  since  there  was  scarcely  time  for  one 
man  to  get  all,  one  man  could  take  the  first  point,  another  the  second,  and 
so  on.  These  men  occupied  seats  close  together  so  that  an  exchange  of 
signals  was  possible.  Afterwards  they  discussed  each  lecture  and  put 
their  notes  together. 

Dates  bother  some  people  a  great  deal,  especially  when  they  are 
sprinkled  over  large  areas  of  notes.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  stud- 
ent has  to  keep  several  distinct  sets  of  dates  in  his  mind  for  several  suc- 
cessive examinations.  If  you  have  experienced  trouble  in  remembering" 
dates  try  the  following  system  which  has  proved  beneficial  to  at  least  one 
student. 


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 


Shakspere 

Jonson 
— Chapman 

Marston 
— Dekker 

Middleton 

Beaumont 
— Fletcher 
— Massinger 
—Ford 
— Shirley 

Webster 


O 
o 
a. 

on 


Born 
1564 
1573- 
—1559- 
1575 


—1569- 
1570- 
1558— 
-1579 
—1589— 
^1—1586 
0 1— 1596 


-reverse- 
in 

u 


50  years 


Died 
1616- 
-1637 
1634- 
1634- 

1634  - 
1616— 
1625 
-1639 


j-i 

a 


o> 

S 

C/3 


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11, 
12. 


After  reading  the  extract  from  a  lecture  on  "The  Essentials  of  a  Good 
Business   Letter,"    see   if  the   notes   which   immediately  follow   contain  all 


10 

the    important   points,    properly    subordinated    and    arranged,    as    we   have 
advised. 

i.     ESSENTIALS  OF  A  GOOD  BUSINESS  LETTER. 

A  good  business  letter  is  characterized  by  a  clear,  effective  presenta- 
tion of  sound  subject  matter.  We  are  concerned  here,  not  with  the  subv 
ject  matter,  which  we  assume  to  be  sound,  but  with  how  this  matter  is  pre- 
sented— in  other  words,  with  the  composition  of  the  letter.  From  this 
point  of  view,  a  good  business  letter  is,  first  of  all  accurate,  accurate  in 
form,  in  spelling,  in  grammar,  in  punctuation,  in  sentence  structure. 

Certain  forms  for  the  headings,  address  and  salutation,  formal  close, 
and  superscription,  which  are  sanctioned  by  good  use,  must  be  strictly  fol- 
lowed. Correct  spelling,  good  grammar,  and  proper  punctuation  are 
absolute  essentials,  as  in  any  other  kind  of  composition.  Misspelled  words 
and  bad  grammar  are  generally  signs  of  illiteracy,  and  although  such 
errors  do  not,  as  a  rule,  tend  to  make  the  sense  obscure,  they  do  seriously 
impair  the  force  of  a  letter.  Faulty  punctuation  often  confuses  the  mean- 
ing, thus  causing  greater  effort  on  the  part  of  the  reader  to  understand 
exactly  what  the  writer  wishes  to  say. 

Every  sentence  in  a  letter  should  be  grammatically  complete,  and 
should  express  but  one  idea.  Faulty  sentence  structure,  like  faulty  punc- 
tuation, offends  both  against  accuracy  and  clearness.  Careful  writers  never 
use  the  shortened  forms  so  common  in  slovenly  letters.  Such  expres- 
sions   as    the    following    should    be    avoided:         ****** 

Closely  connected  with  accuracy  is  the  second  essential  of  a  well  writ- 
ten business  letter,  clearness.  Too  great  pains  cannot  be  taken  that  the 
reader  shall  understand  with  the  least  effort  what  is  said  in  a  letter.  If 
the  sentences  are  unified,  coherent,  and  properly  punctuated,  much  has 
been  accomplished  toward  securing  clearness.  There  remains  the  logical 
arrangement  and  the  proper  paragraphing  of  the  pavts  of  the  letter  or  the 
divisions  of  a  subject.  If  several  related  ideas  are  treated  in  a  letter, 
they  must  follow  one  another  logically  and  each  division  of  the  subject  must 
stand  by  itself  in  a  paragraph.  Here  the  writer  must  determine  what  he 
should  say  first,  what  should  logically  follow,  and  what  should  be  the 
most  effective  ending.  He  must  also  decide  what  parts  of  his  subject  mat- 
ter should  be  placed  by  themselves  in  separate  paragraphs.  If  he  is  reply- 
ing to  a  letter,  he  should  discuss  the  points  in  the  order  in  which  they 
appeared  in  the  original  letter.  In  every  case  he  must  arrange  his  letter 
so  that  the  trend  of  thought  is  logical  and  the  divisions  of  his  subject  mat' 
ter  clearly  brought  out. 

One  sample  of  a  poorly  paragraphed  letter  with  a   revised  copy  will 
illustrate  the  gain  in  clearness  which  comes  from  proper  paragraphing.     * 

'■l*  "■A*  "i?  -4?  ^  ^tr  "it  ^Jff  ^t* 

yf>  ^P-  2f*  'f*  *p>  *r*  •r*'  "I*  *r- 

Logical  arrangement  of  the  subject  matter  and  grammatical  accuracy 
will,  of  course,  avail  little  if  a  writer  does  not  give  intelligent  expression  to 
his  ideas.  Words  may  be  used  correctly,  sentences  may  be  complete  gram- 
matically, and  paragraphs  may  be  well  constructed;  but  a  letter  will  still 
be  unintelligible  if  a  writer's  combination  of  words  does  not  make  good 
sense.  Confused  expression  is  generally  due  to  confusion  in  a  writer's 
mental  processes;  it  is  less  frequently,  though  frequent  enough,  due  to 
careless  composition,  to  neglect  on  the  part  'of  the  writer  to  make  sure 
that  what  he  has  said  means  something  and  means  only  one  thing.  A  man 
should    always   remember   that   an   expression  which   is   perfectly   clear   to 


11 

Ihim  may  be  entirely  obscure  to  an  equally  intelligent  reader.     The  follow- 
ing letter  is  an  admirable  example  of  muddled  composition.  * 
********* 

Certain  devices  which  help  the  reader  in  an  easy  comprehension  of  the 
subject  matter  of  a  letter  are  used  by  many  business  men.  It  is  often  advis- 
able to  write  at  the  beginning  of  a  letter  a  title  indicating  the  contents  of 
a  letter.  If  a  letter  addressed  to  a  company  is  of  special  interest  to  one 
man,  this  fact  is  indicated  in  the  inside  address  and  salutation  by  a  phrase 
such  as  Attention  Mr.  J.  P.  Brown.  In  most  replies  to  business  letters,  a 
statement  of  the  subject  under  discussion  should,  even  at  the  risk  of  repe- 
tition, be  made  in  the  first  sentence.  The  busy  man  must  know  at  once 
whether  a  certain  letter  concerns  him  or  another  member  of  his  firm  or 
one  of  his  subordinates.  Such  devices  as  are  here  mentioned  help  much  in 
securing  clearness,  the  second  essential  of  a  well  written  business  letter. 

Accuracy  and  clearness  will  be  of  little  avail,  however,  unless  a  busi- 
ness letter  is  brief.  Unnecessary  diffuseness  will  spoil  the  effect  of  an 
otherwise  effective  letter.  Information  ■  must  be  presented  as  briefly  and 
concisely  as  possible.  The  reader  has  not  the  time  or  patience  to  wade 
through  a  mass  of  meaningless  words.  The  young  engineer  will  find  usual- 
ly that  it  is  worth  while  to  go  over  carefully  every  letter,  condensing  and 
improving  his  expression  wherever  possible.  Notice  the  saving  in  words 
effected,  in  the  revision  of  the  following  letter.  Unnecessary  words  are 
omitted  and  a  title  indicating  the  contents  is  attached  at  the  beginning  of 
the     letter  *  *********** 

********* 

NOTES    ON    ESSENTIALS    OF   A   GOOD    BUSINESS    LETTER 

I.  Accuracy. 

Form,    spelling,   grammar,   punctuation,   sentence   structure. 

(a)  Established  forms  for  heading,  address,  and  salutation,  etc.,  must 

be  followed. 

(b)  Misspelled  words  and  bad  grammar  signs  of  illiteracy. 

(c)  Faulty  spelling  confuses  meaning. 

(d)  Sentences    should    be    complete.      Avoid    such    sentences    as    the 

following: 
(Examples) 

II.  Clearness. 

(a)  Good  sentences   a  help  toward  clearness 

(b)  Logical   arrangement   and   paragraphing. 

Compare  poorly  paragraphed  letter  with  the  revision.     (Example). 

(c)  Writer  must    give   intelligent   expression   to   his   ideas. 

(d)  Certain   devices  help  the   writer  to   understand  easily  the   subject 

matter  of  a  letter. 

1.  Title  at  beginning  of  letter  indicating  contents. 

2.  Attention    of    one    member    or    employee    of    a    firm    called    by    a 

phrase   such  as — Attention   Mr.   J.   P.    Brown. 

3.  Mention  in  first  sentence  of  the  subject  under  discussion. 

III.  Brevity. 

(a)     Information  must  be  given  as  briefly  and  concisely  as  possible, 
(b)     Omit   unnecessary  words. 

,(c)  But  composition  must  be  grammatically  and  logically  complete. 
Complete  information  must  be  given.  One's  judgment  is  the 
only   guide. 


12 

II.     CHEMICAL  CHANGES  IN  THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 

A  large  number  of  investigations  have  been  made  on  the  subject  of 
the  chemical  changes  which  occur  in  the  blast-furnace,  but  in  spite  of  these 
our  knowledge  of  this  subject  is  still  far  from  complete.  The  fuel  ignit- 
ing with  the  oxygen  of  the  blast  burns  with,  formation, -in  the  first  place, 
of  carbon  dioxide,  and  this  is  reduced  to  carbonmonoxide  by  contact  with 
glowing  carbon.  This  latter  gas  coming  into  contact  with  the  constantly 
descending  charges  of  ore,  reduces  the  ferric  oxide  to  spongy  metal,  and 
this  soon  becomes  coated  with  a  fusible  slag  of  silicate  of  lime.  The  zone 
in  which  the  reduction  occurs  is  situated  at  a  higher  or  a  lower  part  of 
the  furnace  according  to  the  nature  of  the  ore,  and  its  temperature  varies 
from  500  degrees  to  900  degrees.  When  the  ores  are  porous,  they  are  more 
easily  permeated  by  the  carbon  monoxide  present,  and  the  reduction  takes 
place  more  quickly  than  when  denser  ores  are  employed.  As  the  spongy 
iron  descends,  it  arrives  at  the  hotter  parts  of  the  furnace,  the  tempera- 
ture of  which  reaches  to  1000  degrees  in  the  belly  or  widest  part  of  the 
furnace.  At  this  point  the  finely-divided  spongy  iron  begins  to  take  up 
carbon,  and  it  may,  therefore,  be  termed  "the  zone  of  carburisation." 
The  iron  does  not,  however,  become  saturated  with  carbon  until  a  lower 
point  has  been  reached,  at  which  the  temperature  rises  to  about  1400  de- 
grees. In  this  zone,  which  is  the  hottest  part  of  the  furnace,  the  materials, 
which  were  formerly  in  a  pasty  state,  melt  completely,  running  down  into 
the  hearth,  where  the  lighter  slag  floats  on  the  surface  of  the  heavier  iron, 
and  thus  protects  it  from  the  oxidising  action  of  the  blast.  Other  im- 
portant changes  in  the  composition  of  the  iron  occur  as  the  metal  passes 
down  the  furnace.  In  the  first  place,  the  spongy  iron,  in  passing  through 
the  zone. of  reduction,  takes  up  sulphur  from  the  ores;  and  secondly,  when 
the  temperature  reaches  a  higher  point  in  the  zone  of  carburisation,  the 
phosphates  contained  in  the  ore  are  reduced,  and  the  phosphorus  is  taken 
up  by  the  iron.  At  a  still  higher  temperature  the  fused  iron  reduces  sili- 
con from  the  silicates,  and  this,  together  with  manganese,  aluminum,  and 
other  metals,  remains  as  impurity  in  the  cast-iron,     (a) 

NOTES    ON   CHEMICAL   CHANGES   IN   A    BLAST  FURNACE. 

In  spite  of  many  investigations  knowledge  still  incomplete* 

1.  Fuel  uniting  with  oxygen  forms 

(a)  Carbon  dioxide. 

(b)  Carbon  monoxide,  by  contact  with  glowing  carbon. 

2.  Carbon  monoxide  in  contact  with  constantly  descending  charges  of 

ore 

(a)  Reduces  ferric  oxide  to  spongy  metal. 

(b)  Spongy  metal  soon  coated  with  fusible  slag  of  silicate  of  lime, 

(c)  Zone  of  this  reduction  at  higher  or  lower  part  of  furnace  ac- 

cording to  nature   of   ore.     Temperature  from  60  degrees   to 
900  degrees. 

(d)  Reduction  quicker  when  ores  are  porous. 

3.  As    spongy   iron   descends   it   arrives   at  hotter   parts   of   furnace — 

temperature  1000  degrees. 

(a)  Here  spongy  iron  begins  to  take  up  carbon — "Zone  of  carburi- 

sation." 

(b)  Iron   saturated  with   carbon  at   lower  point — ca.   1400  degrees, 

(a)     Taken  from  Roscoe  and  Schorlemmer's  Treatise  on  Chemistry  I;  p.  53. 


13 

Materials  melt  completely  running  down  into  hearth.     Lighter 
slag  floats  on  surface  and  protects  heavier  iron  from  oxidising 
action  of  the  blast. 
4.     Other  changes   in  composition  of  iron  as   metal   passes   down  the 
furnace. 

(a)  In  zone  of  reduction  spongy  iron  takes  up  sulphur. 

(b)  In   zone   of  carburisation  phosphates   reduced   and   phosphorus 

taken  up  by  iron. 

(c)  At  higher  temperatures  fused  iron  reduces  silicon  from  silicates 

and  this  with  manganese,  aluminum,  and  other  metals,  remains 
as  an  impurity  in  cast-iron. 

HI.    TOOTHED  GEARING. 

When  a  constant  velocity  ratio  is  to  be  maintained  between  two  or 
more  shafts,  the  pitch  surfaces  of  the  wheels  on  each  shaft,  previously  dis- 
cussed, are  no  longer  suitable  for  the  transmission  of  rotation,  owing  to 
their  liability  to  slip.  We  now  have  to  consider  the  forms  of  the  teeth 
which  must  be  employed  in  order  to  prevent  this   slipping. 

It  is  first  desirable,  however,  to  gain  a  clear  idea  of  the  general  nature 
of  the  various  kinds  of  toothed  wheels  in  use,  and  of  those  peculiarities 
upon  which  their   classification  is  based. 

The  axes  of  a  pair  of  engaging  wheels  may  not  only  have  different 
relative  positions,  but  the  teeth  of  the  wheels  themselves  may  be  of  differ- 
ent kinds,  and  act  upon  each  other  in  very  different  ways;  for  instance,  the 
mode  of  action  of  a  pair  of  screw  wheels  is  quite  unlike  in  its  intrincis  na- 
ture that  of  a  pair  of  skew  wheels,  although  the  relative  positions  of  their 
axes  may  be  the  same.  There  are  six  classes  of  toothed  gearing  found  in 
practice,  namely: 

1.  Spur  gearing.  4.     Twisted  gearing 

2.  Bevel  gearing.  5.     Screw  gearing.. 

3.  Skew  gearing.  6.     Face  gearing. 

Now  it  is  evident  that  the  teeth  of  engaging  wheels  act  upon  each 
other  by  direct  contact,  no  matter  what  their  number  may  be.  Hence,  if 
the  number  be  indefinitely  increased,  the  size  of  each  being  correspond- 
ingly decreased,  the  teeth  themselves  will  ultimately  become,  in  general, 
lines,  or  elements  of  surfaces  in  contact.  The  relative  motions  of  these 
surfaces  will  be  the  same  as  those  of  the  wheels  from  which  they  are 
thus  derived,  their  forms  and  relative  positions  depending  on  the  nature 
of  the  class  of  gearing  to  which  the  wheels  originally  belonged.  These 
surfaces  are  called  "Pitch  Surfaces." 

In  the  first  three  classes,  the  teeth,  which  are  bounded  by  ruled  sur- 
faces, touch  each  other  along  right  lines,  and  by  the  process  before  men- 
tioned reduce  to  rectilinear  elements  of  their  pitch  surfaces,  which  latter  by 
their  method  of  derivation  must  be  tangent  along  a  right  line.  The  axes  of 
spur  wheels  are  parallel,  and  their  pitch  surfaces  are  cylinders;  the  axes 
of  bevel  wheels  intersect  each  other,  and  their  pitch  surfaces  are  cones 
whose  common  vertex  is  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  axes:  the  axes 
of  skew  wheels  lie  in  different  planes  (hence  they  neither  intersect  nor  are 
parallel),  and  their  pitch  surfaces  are  hyperboloids. 

Now  let  us  suppose  that  one  of  the  wheels  of  an  engaging  pair,  belong- 
ing to  any  one  of  the  first  three  classes,  lies  twisted  on  its  axis,  each  succes- 
sive transverse   plane  being  rotated   the  same   relative   amount   through  a 


14 

greater  angle  than  the  preceding  one;  then  the  other  wheel  of  the  pair 
will  receive  a  corresponding  twist.  The  teeth  are  now  distorted  into  sur- 
faces of  a  helicoidal  nature,  and  by  the  before  mentioned  process  of  infinite 
sub-division,  they  become  helical  lines. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  these  helical  lines  lie  upon  pitch  sur- 
faces, which  are  tangent  along  a  right  line,  no  matter  to  which  of  the  first 
three  classes  of  gearing  the  wheels  from  which  they  were  derived  belonged. 
And  it  will  also  be  seen  that  whatever  of  screw-like  action  may  be  involved 
in  their  motions,  tends  only  to  cause  pressure  in  the  direction  of  the  com- 
mon element  of  the  pitch  surfaces,  and  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
the  transmission  of  rotation.  Wheels  belonging  to  this  class  are  known 
as  twisted  wheels. 

There  is  a  very  marked  difference  between  these  twisted  wheels,  and 
those  of  the  next  class,  screw  gearing.  In  the  latter,  it  is  true,  the  teeth 
are  also  of  helicoidal  form,  and  reduce  to  helical  lines;  but  these  helices  He 
upon  cylinders  whose  axes  lie  in  different  planes,  and  hence  the  pitch  sur- 
faces touch  each  other  in  a  point  only.  Again,  as  illustrated  by  the  well- 
known  combination  of  the  "Worm  and  wheel",  it  is  the  screw-like  action 
alone  of  one  wheel  upon  the  other  which  transmits  rotation. 

Face  Gearing.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  the  wheels  are 
usually  formed  with  teeth  consisting  of  turned  pins  projecting  from  the 
faces  of  circular  disks.  The  pins  may  be  inserted  in  surfaces  other  than, 
planes,  and  thus  these  wheels  will  work  together  when  their  axes  have 
various  relative  positions.  The  distinguishing  features  of  this  class  are,, 
that  whatever  the  relative  positions  of  the  axis  or  the  forms  of  the  wheels, 
the  teeth  have  circular  transverse  sections,  touch  each  other  in  a  single 
point  only,  and  finally  reduce  to  points  in  the  circumferences  of  the  cir- 
cles in  contact.  The  reason  for  this  last  feature  is  that  increasing  the  num- 
ber of  teeth  requires  a  decrease  in  their  length  and  diameters,  so  that  fin- 
ally they  vanish  altogether,  or  in  other  words  become  points.  In  the  other 
classes  of  gearing,  the  length  of  the  teeth  is  not  at  all  affected  by  a  change 
in  either  their  height  or  thickness,  and  therefore  they  reduce  to  lines  in- 
stead of  points.  Face  wheels,  strictly  speaking,  have  therefore  no  "pitch 
surfaces,"  although  in  making  them  a  surface  of  some  kind  must  be  pro- 
vided to  which  the  teeth  may  be  secured. 

NOTES    ON   TOOTHED    GEARING,     (a) 

When  constant  velocity  ratio  is  to  be  maintained  between  two  or 
more  shafts,  the  pitch  surfaces  of  wheels,  owing  to  liability  to  slip,  are  no 
longer  suitable.     To  prevent  this  slipping  toothed  gearing  used. 

Necessary  first  to  have  a  clear  idea  of  nature  of  various  kinds  of 
toothed  wheels. 

Engaging  wheels  vary,  not  only  in  relative  positions  of  their  axes,  but 
also  in  kinds  of  teeth,  and  in  way  teeth  act  upon  each  other.  For  instance, 
action  of  screw  wheels  unlike  that  of  skew  wheels,  although  relative  posi- 
tions of  their  axes  may  be  the  same. 

Classification: 

i.     Spur  gearing.  4.  Twisted  gearing. 

2.  Bevel  gearing.  5.  'Screw  gearing. 

3.  Skew  gearing.  6.  Face  gearing. 

(a)  These  notes,  althoug-h  mote  extended  than  is  necessary,  indicate  the  essential  points  of 
the  part  of  th«.  lecture  printed 


, 


15 


If  the  teeth  of  a  wheel  be  indefinitely  increased  in  number  ,the  size 
being  correspondingly  diminished,  they  will  become  mere  lines,  or  ele- 
ments of  surfaces  in  contact. 

The  relative  motions  of  these  surfaces  will  be  the  same  as  those  of  the 
wheels  from  which  they  are  thus  derived.  The  forms  of  these  surfaces 
depend  on  the  class  of  gearing  to  which  the  wheels  originally  belonged. 

The  surfaces  are  known  as  "pitch  surfaces." 

In  the  first  three  classes,  the  teeth,  which  are  bounded  by  ruled  sur^ 
faces,  touch  each  other  along  right  lines,  and  reduce  to  rectilinear  ele- 
ments of  the  pitch  surfaces,  which  by  the  mode  of  derivation  must  be  tan- 
gent along  a  straight  line. 

Axes  of  spur  wheels  are  parallel,  and  their  pitch  surfaces  are  cylinders. 

Axes  of  bevel  wheels  intersect,  and  their  pitch  surfaces  are  cones, 
whose  common  vertex  is  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  axes. 

Axes  of  skew  wheels  lie  in  different  planes,  and  their  pitch  surfaces 
are  hyperboloids. 

In  twisted  gearing  the  teeth  are  distorted  into  surfaces  of  a  helical 
nature  and  by  indefinite  subdivision  into  helical  lines.  These  helical  lines 
lie  upon  surfaces  which  are  tangent  along  a  straight  line,  whether  the  axes 
are  parallel,  intersecting,  or  neither.  Any  screw-like  action  of  these  wheels 
tends  only  to  cause  pressure  in  the  direction  of  the  common  element  of 
the  pitch  surfaces,  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  transmission  of  rotation, 

In  screw  gearing  the  teeth  reduce  to  helical  lines,  but  these  helices  lie 
upon  cylinders  whose  axes  are  in  different  planes  The  pitch  surfaces  touch 
each  other  in  a  point  only.  In  this  class,  unlike  the  preceding,  the  screw- 
like action  alone  of  one  wheel  upon  another  produces  rotation. 

In  face  gearing  the  teeth  reduce  to  points  in  the  circumferences  of 
circles  which  are  in  contact.  Face  wheels  have,  properly  speaking,  no 
pitch  surfaces.  However,  some  kind  of  surface  must  be  provided  in  which 
to  secure  the  pins  or  teeth. 

NOTES  ON   READING 

We  now  come  to  the  discussion  of  our  second  division,  the  notes  on 
reading.  What  has  already  been  said  of  the  Lecture  in  general  applies 
almost  equally  well  to  the  Reading.  In  each  case  the  purpose  is  the  same. 
Almost  the  only  difference  is  in  the  matter  of  tune.  In  the  reading  one 
can  be  as  thorough  or  can  spend  as  much  time  as  desired  since  one  is  not 
obliged  to  keep  pace  with  the  delivery  of  a  speaker.  Indeed  many  students 
can  take  excellent  notes  from  their  reading,  who  fail  to  take  good  notes  on 
their  lectures  because  they  think  and  write  too  slowly.  Thus  notes  on  read- 
ing are  much  easier  and  besides  being  easier,  if  one  reads  carefully,  they 
will  not  need  to  be  so  detailed,  except  under  special  conditions.  The  parti- 
cular requirements  of  individual  courses  will  determine  to  some  extent  the 
amount  of  detail.  When  only  a  few  works  are  considered  in  a  term,  as  in 
English  2,  or  English  4,  and  students  are  questioned  very  definitely  in 
weekly  tests  in  order  to  insure  very  careful  reading,  it  is  safe  to  record  in 
the  note  book  even  details  of  form,  shape,  size,  and  color.  For  example, 
in  the  reading  in  the  King  James'  version  of  the  Bible  the  instructor  might 
ask  such  seemingly  trivial  questions  as  of  what  kind  of  wood  the  Ark  was 
built,  the  number  of  days  of  rain  as  distinguished  from  the  duration  of  the 
flood,  etc.;  or  in  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  what  particular  advice  Moloch 
had  to  offer  Satan  in  Book  II.     In  other  cases  a  more  general  knowledge 


16 

is  sufficient,  and  a  student  would  record  such  particulars  as  his  own  con- 
ception of  the  characters,  briefs  of  the  plott  matters  affecting  style,  meter, 
etc.  In  various  courses  the  reading  will  be  as  varied  as  the  forms  of  liter- 
ature themselves.  One  may  be  held  responsible  for  novels,  plays,  essays, 
and  poems;  for  theses,  reports  and  articles  in  the  current  magazines.  We 
give  examples  of  notetaking  from  various  forms,  but  it  should  be  under- 
stood that  there  is  great  flexibility  regarding  these  notes.  In  your  particu- 
lar cas.e  your  own  judgment  must  be  the  best  guide. 

I.    THE  NOVEL. 

The  novel  is  too  long  to  use  as  illustration  here.  Besides,  it  does  not 
differ  widely  enough  from  other  forms  of  literature,  which  we  do  illustrate, 
to  make  the  notes  particularly  useful.  From  the  point  of  view  of  note  tak- 
make  the  notes  particularly  useful.  From  the  point  of  view  of  note  tak- 
ing the  novel  is  like  the  play  in  many  respects.  Both  have  plots,  or  story, 
depending  upon  characterization  and  motivation,  or  reason  for  action. 
The  differences  are  largely  external,  in  the  manner  of  appeal.  The  play  is 
made  up  of  speeches  for  the  mouths  of  living  people  on  a  stage  set  to 
represent  actual  scenes,  and  when  read  seems  bare  and  abrupt  unless  one 
has  the  power  of  visualization.  The  novel  is  intended  for  reading  only, 
and  so  gets  its  effect  through  description  and  narration  as  well  as  by  a 
limited  amount  of  conversation  in  the  mouths  of  characters.  Here  you  do 
not,  as  in  the  play,  have  your  cast  of  characters  all  in  a  precise  row  to  tell 
you  whom  you  may  expect  to  see.  They  appear  to  you  as  the  story  ad- 
vances. Leave  a  page  in  your  notebook  for  each  character.  Then  put 
down  from  time  to  time  comments  on  the  characters,  their  relations  one  to 
another,  and  anything  else  at  all  which  may  appear  to  you  as  an  interest- 
ing or  significant  point  to  remember.  The  purely  descriptive  parts  will 
help  you  to  know  the  characters  and  the  setting  but  they  need  not  be 
recorded  except  by  occasional  significant  words  which  throw  light  on  the 
plot.  It  is  well  to  record  all  the  important  action  as  you  proceed.  This 
will  give  you  the  plot  in  detail  when  you  have  finished.  It  may  be  well, 
later,  to  boil  it  down  into  a  summary  also.  After  this  has  been  done 
record  your  own  conception  of  the  novel  as  a  whole,  stating  here  what  you 
conceive  to  be  the  main  purpose  of  the  novel  and  possibly  the  special 
characteristics  of  the  writer.  Thus  with  characters,  setting,  plot,  and  pur- 
pose, you  will  have  the  elements  of  the  novel  ready  at  hand  for  use. 

II.    THE   ESSAY. 

The  term  essay  has  a  very  broad  meaning.  We  use  it  here  in  connec- 
tion with  writing  of  a  purely  expository  character.  In  such  writing  there 
is  usually  a  directness  of  style  which  makes  note  taking  very  simple.  The 
author,  as  a  rule,  is  trying  to  present  his  own  ideas  or  to  prove  a  point. 
He  has  a  definite,  obvious  purpose,  and  is  most  successful  when  he  is  most 
logical.  In  reading  an  essay  look  first  for  the  purpose.  Then  try  to  take 
the  writer's  point  of  view  while  you  read;  put  yourself  in  his  place  and  fol- 
low him  in  his  reasoning.  Thus  a  writer  may  be  showing  that  man  is  de- 
generating. Another  may  be  trying  to  prove  that  the  earth  is  not  spherical, 
but  some  other  shape.  Yet  another  may  maintain  that  Shakspere  was 
Bacon,  and  so  on.  It  is  not  for  you  to  quarrel  with  these  views.  You 
may  not  agree  with  any  of  them,  but  your  own  views  must  not  creep  in  to 
color  or  distort  the  meaning  which  the  author  intended.  If  you  are  later 
called  upon  to  give  the  views  of  Smith  or  Jones,  you  must  have  notes 
which  represent  the  individual  attitude  of  Smith  or  Jones,  and  no  one  else. 


IT 

In  critical  essays  the  main  thing  is  to  show  wherein  one  critic  disagrees 
with  every  other  critic  on  the  subject.  Better  outline  every  essay  as  you 
advance,  summing  up  each  point  as  made,  and  subordinating  each  idea 
under  its  particular  head,  quite  as  you  did  in  the  lectures. 

A.    MILTON  AND  DANTE— MACAULY'S  ESSAY  ON  MILTON. 

The  poetry  of  Milton  differs  from  that  of  Dante,  as  the  hieroglyphics 
of  Egypt  differed  from  the  picture-writing  of  Mexico.  The  images  which 
Dante  employs  speak  for  themselves;  they  stand  simply  for  what  they  are. 
Those  of  Milton  have  a  signification  which  is  often  discernible  only  to  the 
initiated.  Their  value  depends  less  on  what  they  directly  represent  than 
on  what  they  remotely  suggest.  However  strange,  however  grotesque, 
may  be  the  appearance  which  Dante  undertakes  to  describe,  he  never 
shrinks  from  describing  it.  He  gives  us  the  shape,  the  color,  the  sound, 
the  smell,  the  taste;  he  counts  the  numbers;  he  measures  the  size.  His 
similes  are  the  illustrations  of  a  traveller.  Unlike  those  of  other  poets,  and 
especially  of  Milton,  they  are  introduced  in  a  plain,  business-like  manner; 
not  for  the  sake  of  any  beauty  in  the  objects  from  which  they  are  drawn; 
not  for  the  sake  of  any  ornament  which  they  may  impart  to  the  poem;  but 
simply  in  order  to  make  the  meaning  of  the  writer  as  clear  to  the  reader 
as  it  is  to  himself.  The  ruins  of  the  precipice  which  led  from  the  sixth  to 
the  seventh  circle  of  hell  were  like  those  of  the  rock  which  fell  into  the 
Adige  on  the  south  of  Trent.  The  cataract  of  Phlegethon  was  like  that  of 
Aqua  Cheta  at  the  monastery  of  S.  Benedict.  The  place  where  the  here- 
tics were  confined  in  burning  tombs  resembled  the  vast  cemetery  of  Aries. 

Now  let  us  compare  with  the  exact  details  of  Dante  the  dim  intimations 
of  Milton.  We  will  cite  a  few  examples.  The  English  poet  has  never 
thought  of  taking  the  measure  of  Satan.  He  gives  us  merely  a  vague  idea 
of  vast  bulk.  In  one  passage  the  fiend  lies  stretched  out  huge  in  length, 
floating  many  a  rood,  equal  in  size  to  the  earth-born  enemies  of  Jove,  or 
to  the  sea-monster  which  the  mariner  mistakes  for  an  island.  When  he 
addresses  himself  to  battle  against  the  guardian  angels,  he  stands  like 
Teneriffe  or  Atlas:  his  stature  reaches  the  sky.  Contrast  with  these  de- 
scriptions the  lines  in  which  Dante  has  described  the  gigantic  spectre  of 
Nimrod.  "His  face  seemed  to  me  as  long  and  as  broad  as  the  ball  of  St. 
Peter's  at  Rome;  and  his  other  limbs  were  in  proportion;  so  that  the  bank, 
which  concealed  him  from  the  waist  downwards,  nevertheless  showed  so 
much  of  him,  that  three  tall  Germans  would  in  vain  have  attempted  to 
reach  his  hair."  We  are  sensible  that  we  do  no  justice  to  the  admirable 
style  of  the  Florentine  poet.  But  Mr.  Cary's  translation  is  not  at  hand; 
and  our  version,  however  rude,  is  sufficient  to  illustrate  our  meaning. 

Once  more,  compare  the  lazar-house  in  the  eleventh  book  of  the  Para- 
dise Lost  with  the  last  ward  of  Malebolgo  in  Dante.  Milton  avoids  the 
loathsome  details,  and  takes  refuge  in  indistinct  but  solemn  and  tremend- 
ous imagery — Despair  hurrying  from  couch  to  mock  the  wretches  with 
his  attendance,  Death  shaking  his  dart  over  them,  but,  in  spite  of  suppli- 
cations, delaying  to  strike.  What  says  Dante?  "There  wars  such  a  moan 
there  as  there  would  be  if  all  the  sick  who,  between  July  and  September, 
are  in  the  hospitals  of  Valdichiana,  and  of  the  Tuscan  swamps,  and  of  Sar- 
dinia, were  in  one  pit  together;  and  such  a  stench  was  issuing  forth  as  is 
wont  to  issue  from  decayed  limbs." 

We  will  not  take  upon  ourselves  the  invidious  office  of  settling  preced- 
ency between  two  such  write)  s.     Each  in  his  own  department  is  incompar- 


18 

able,  and  each,  we  may  remark,  has  wisely,  or  fortunately,  taken  a  subject 
adapted    to    exhibit   his    peculiar    talent   to    the    greatest    advantage.     The 
Divine  Comedy  is  a  personal  narrative.     Dante  is  the  eye-witness  and  ear- 
witness  of  that  which  he  relates.     He  is  the  very  man  who  has  heard  the 
tormented  spirits  crying  out  for  the  second  death,  who  has  read  the  dusky 
characters  on  the  portal  within. which  there  is  no  hope,  who  has  hidden  his 
face  from  the  terrors  of  the"  Gorgon,  who  has  fled  from  the  hooks  and  the 
seething   pitch    of    Barbariccia    and    Draghignazzo.      His    own    hands    have 
grasped  the  shaggy  sides  of  Lucifer.     His  own  feet  have  climbed  the  moun- 
tain of  expiation.     His  own  brow  has  been  marked  by  the  purifying  angel. 
The  reader  would  throw  aside  such  a  tale  in  incredulous  disgust,  unless  it 
were  told  with  the  strongest   air  of  veracity,  with  a  sobriety  even  in  its 
horrors,   with  the   greatest  precision   and   multiplicity  in   its    details.     The 
narrative  of  Milton  in  this  respect  differs  from  that  of  Dante,  as  the  ad- 
ventures of  Amadis  differ  from  those  of  Gulliver.     The  author  of  Amadis 
would  have  made  his  book  ridiculous  if  he  had  introduced  those  particu- 
lars which  gave  such  a  charm  to  the  work  of  Swift,  the  nautical  observa- 
tions, the  affected  delicacy  about  names,  the  official  documents  transcribed 
at    full    length    and    all    the    unending    gossip    and    scandal    of    the    court, 
springing  out  of  nothing,  and   tending  to  nothing.     We   are   not   shocked 
at   being    told    that   a    man   who    lived,    nobody    knows    where,    saw   many 
strange  sights,  and  we  can  easily  abandon  ourselves  to  the  illusion  of  the 
romance.     But  when   Lemuel    Gulliver,    surgeon,   resident   at   Rotherhithe, 
tells   us  of  pygmies   and  giants,  dying  islands   and   philosophizing   horses, 
nothing  but   such  circumstantial   touches   could  produce   for  a   single  mo- 
ment a  deception  of  the  imagination. 

Of  all  the  poets  who  have  introduced  into  their  works  the  agency  of 
supernatural  beings,  Milton  has  succeeded  best.  Here  Dante  decidedly 
yields  to  him;  and  as  this  is  a  point  on  which  many  rash  and  ill-considered 
judgments  have  been  pronounced,  we  feel  inclined  to  dwell  on  it  a  little 
longer.  The  most  fatal  error  which  a  poet  can  possibly  commit  in  the 
management  of  his  machinery,  is  that  of  attempting  to  philosophize  too 
much.  Milton  has  been  often  censured  for  ascribing  to  spirits  many 
iunctions  of  which  spirits  must  be  incapable.  But,  these  objections 
though  sanctioned  by  eminent  names,  originate,  we  venture  to  say,  in  pro- 
found ignorance  of  the  art  of  poetry. 

What  is  spirit?  What  are  our  own  minds,  the  portion  of  spirit  with 
which  we  are  best  acquainted?  We  observe  certain  phenomena.  We  can- 
not explain  them  into  material  causes.  We  therefore  infer  that  there 
exists  something  which  is  not  material.  But  of  this  something  we  have 
no  idea.  We  can  define  it  only  by  negatives.  We  can  reason  about  it 
only  by  symbols.  We  use  the  word;  but  we  have  no  image  of  the  thing; 
and  the  business  of  poetry  is  with  images,  and  not  with  words.  The  poet 
uses  words  indeed;  but  they  are  merely  the  instruments  of  his  art,  not  its 
objects.  They  are  the  materials  which  he  is  to  dispose  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  present  a  picture  to  the  mental  eye.  And  if  they  are  not  so  disposed, 
they,  are  no  more  entitled  to  be  called  poetry  than  a  table  of  canvas  and  a 
box  of  colors  to  be  called  a  painting.    , 

Logicians  may  reason  about  abstractions.  But  the  great  mass  of  men 
must  have  images.  The  strong  tendency  of  the  multitude  in  all  ages  and 
nations  to  idolatry  can  be  explained  by  no  other  principle.  The  first  in- 
habitants of  Greece,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  worshipped  one  invisible 
Deity.     But  the  necessity  of  having  something  more  definite  to  adore  pro- 


19 

duced,  in  a  few  centuries,  the  innumerable  crowd  of -god's,' an tf  goddesses. 
In  like  manner  the  ancient  Persians  thought  it  impious  to  exhibit  tfiie 
Creator  under  a  human  form.  Yet  even  these  transferred  to  the  sun  the 
worship  which  in  speculation,  they  considered  due  only  to  the  Supreme 
Mind.  (Students  who  wish  to  read  the  remainder  of  the  essay  may  find 
it  in  the  works  of  the  author  in  the  Essay  on  Milton.) 

NOTES    ON   MILTON  AND   DANTE 

Contrast  between  Milton  and  Dante — their  Poetry. 

A.  Poetry  of  Milton  is  to  Dante's  as  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  to  pic- 

ture writing  of  Mexico. 

(a)  Milton's  valuable  for  suggestion 

(b)  Dante's  too  detailed,  in  color,  shape,  sound,  smell  and  taste. 

B.  Compared  in  detail. 

(a)  Satan   of  Milton  left  to  imagination  for  size. 

(b)  Nimrod  of  Dante  measured  by  earthly  standards. 

(c)  Lazar-house   of   Milton,   loathsome   details   avoided,   has   refuge 

in  indistinct  but  solemn  and  tremendous  imagery. 

(d)  Lazar-house  repulsive  in  carnal  details,  horror,  pain,  stench,  etc. 

C.  Each  incomparable  in  particular  field. 

(a)  Dante  is  eye-witness  and  ear-witness;  personal  narrative. 

(b)  Milton  differs  here  as  Amadis  from  Gulliver. 

(c)  Milton  succeeds  best  of  all  poets  in  supernatural,  better  than 

Dante. 

(d)  Milton  censured  for  ascribing  functions  to  spirits  they  are  not 

capable  of;  this  wrong. 

1.  What  is   spirit? 

2.  Mass  of  people  require  imagery,  attested  to  by  history. 

(a)  First  Greeks. 

(b)  Ancient  Persians. 

(c)  Jews. 

(d)  Spread  of  Christianity. 

3.  Milton   lived  in  age  of  philosophers,  hence  spirit  clothed  ira 
material   form — not  possible   to   take   neutral  ground. 

D.  Picturesqueness. 

(a)  Dante  very  picturesque  but  lacking  mystery. 

Ghosts  and  demons   do  not   excite   awe. 

Devils   spiteful,   ugly  executioners. 

Dead   nun   mere   living  men    under   strange   situations. 

Beatrice  a  woman  suitable  for  streets  of  Florence. 

(b)  Milton's  spirits  unique. 

Fiends  not  wicked  men  nor  ugly  beasts,  but  huge  shadowy 
outlines   of  gigantic  men. 

E.  Milton  more  comparable  to  Aeschus. 

(a)  Aeschylus  rugged,  barbaric,  colossal. 

Prometheus  half  fiend,  half  redeemer,  friend  of  man,  sullen 
and  implacable  enemy  of  heaven  but  talks  too  much  of  his 
chains. 

(b)  Satan    of    Milton    similar — same    ferocity,    same    unconquerable 

pride,  more  superhuman,  a  creature  of  a  larger  sphere. 


20 

F.     Character  affecting  moral  qualities  of  each — personal  but  not  ego- 
tistical. 

(a)  Milton,  loftiness  of  spirit. 

(b)  Dante,  intensity  of  feeling. 

B.  TRANSPORTATION  OF  COAL  BY  FLUME. 

The  unusual  geological  conditions  existing  in  the  Cinnabar  coal  field 
have  been  responsible  for  the  development  of  several  unique  methods  of 
transporting  the  coal  from  the  mines  in  the  mountains  to  the  coking  plants 
located  on  the  railway  lines  in  the  valleys.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting 
is  a  flume,  one  and  three-quarter  miles  in  length,  conveying  washed  coal 
from  the  mines  at  Aldbridge  to  the  bunkers  at  Electric,  a  description  of 
which  is  given  by  Mr.  Robert  M.  Magraw  in  Mines  and  Minerals  for 
November. 

The  flume  is  economical  both  in  construction  and  in  operation.  It 
consists  simply  of  a  rectangular  open-top  box  lined  with  sheet  iron,  con- 
structed of  2-inch  planking,  with  inside  dimensions  10  by  10  inches.  The 
lining  is  No.  26  gauge  black  sheet  iron,  shaped  at  the  shops  of  the  company 
to  conform  to  the  section  of  the  flume.  In  laying,  the  iron  is  lapped  a  few 
inches  in  favor  of  the  grade,  and  if  kept  in  reasonable  repair  it  is  practi- 
cally water  tight. 

The  flume  is  about  9,000  feet  in  length,  the  first  3,000  feet  having  a 
grade  of  about  4  feet  per  hundred.  For  the  next  3,500  feet,  the  grade  var- 
ies from  15  to  35  degrees.  The  grade  in  the  remaining  section  gradually 
decreases  until  it  again  becomes  4  feet  per  hundred.  "All  minor  gulches 
are  crossed  on  trestles  constructed  of  2  by  4  inch  lumber,  but  where,  any 
marked  degree  of  expense  would  have  been  entailed  by  trestling,  the  flume 
is  curved  to  conform  with  the  topography  of  the  ground.  No  trouble  was 
experienced  with  the  curves  or  changes  of  grade,  but  when  changing  from 
a  steep  to  a  lighter  pitch  the  flume  area  had  to  be  enlarged  for  some  little 
distance  to  allow  for  the  swelling  of  volume  due  to  the  decrease  of  velo- 
city." The  elevation  to  be  given  on  curves  was  easily  determined  by  leav- 
ing the  flume  unnailed  to  stringers  on  all  curves;  after  the  water  was  turn- 
ed on  it  was  a  small  matter  to  key  up  the  outer  edge  to  the  proper  eleva- 
tion. 

About  50,000  feet  of  lumber  were  required  per  mile  of  flume  and  the 
cost  of  lumber  and  erection  amounted  to  about  $1,500  per  mile.  The  cost 
of  the  iron  lining  per  mile  was  about  $415.80,  and  shaping  and  laying,  about 
$75.  The  total  cost  of  the  flume  per  mile  for  material  and  construction 
was  under  $2,000,  a  very  good  showing  in  comparison  with  the  cost  of  a 
surface  tram  road  over  the  same  ground. 

"The  cost  of  operation  of  the  flume  is  practically  nil  during  the 
warmer  months,  but  during  the  winter  it  requires  the  services  of  two  men 
for  about  an  hour  in  the  morning  to  patrol  from  each  end  and  clean  out 
any  masses  of  snow  or  slush  ice  which  may  have  collected  after  the  turn- 
ing on  of  the  water.  The  washer  is  not  started  during  this  season  until  the 
flume  is  reported  clear.  No  water  is  allowed  to  flow  through  the  flume 
during  the  winter  months  after  the  washer  is  shut  down  for  the  day,  as 
experience  has  shown  that  it  freezes  from  the  sides  and  bottom,  and  will 
close  the  entire  flume  area  in  a  very  short  time.  The  scouring  effect  of 
the  coal  prevents  this  trouble  during  the  shift. 

"The  cost  of  maintenance  is  not  great,  the  principal  item  being  the 
cost  of  the  sheet  iron.    The  life  of  the  iron  used  will  average  about  2  years. 


21 

Experiments  contemplated  for  the  near  future  are  expected  to  determine 
the  relative  efficiency  of  various  weights  of  iron,  as  it  is  thought  that  a 
heavier  iron,  although  higher  in  first  cost,  will  last  proportionately  longer, 
thereby  decreasing  the  maintenance  account  an  appreciable  degree.  It  is 
also  intended  to  equip  a  section  with  galvanized  iron,  and  another  section 
with  iron  of  a  semi-cylindrical  shape."  The  life  of  the  flume  with  very 
little  repair,  is  estimated  at  14  years.  Taking  first  cost  into  consideration, 
the  item  of  maintenance  of  the  flume  is,  of  course,  governed  by  the  volume 
and  velocity  of  the  water.  Experience  has  shown  that  a  flow  of  1.58 
miners'  inches,  will  transport  safely  from  35  to  45  tons  per  hour  on  a 
minimum  grade  of  4  feet  to  the  hundred,  and  this  at  practically  no  cost 
for  operation.  No  accurate  data  are  at  hand  showing  the  varying  amounts 
of  coal  carried  per  pound  of  water  for  given  grades,  but  the  above  can  be 
taken  as  the  maximum  amount  it  is  safe  to  transport  with  this  volume  of 
water.  It  would  not  be  deemed  advisable  to  construct  a  flume  for  the  pur- 
pose of  coal  transportation  on  less  than  a  4  per  cent  grade." 

NOTES  ON  TRANSPORTATION  OF  COAL  BY  FLUME 

Paragraph  1 — 

Transporting  coal  by  flume  from  the  mines  at  Aldridge  to  the  bunkers 
at  Electric, 
(a)     Most   interesting  of   several   methods   for   transporting   coal  in 
the    Cinnabar   coal  fields   of   Montana,   from  the   mines  in   the 
mountains  to  the  coking  plants  in  the  valleys. 

Par.  2 — Flume  economical  in  construction  and  operation.     Construction  of 
flume. 

1.  Material  of  flume. 

(a)  Rectangular  open-top  box  lined  with  sheet  iron — 2-inch  plank- 

ing— inside  dimensions  10  by  10. 

(b)  Lining  is  No.  26  gauge  black  sheet  iron. 

(c)  In  laying,  iron  is  lapped  a  few  inches,  with  reasonable  repair, 

practically  tight. 

Par.  3— 

2.  Laying  of  flume. 

(a)  9,000  ft.  long — grade  varying  from  4  ft.  per  100  to  35  degrees. 

(b)  Flume  usually  conforms  to  topography  of  ground. 

(c)  Had  to  be  enlarged  when  changing  from  a  steep  to  a  lighter 

pitch. 

(d)  Elevation  of  curves  determined  by  leaving  the  flume   unnailed 

to  stringers.     Outer  edge  keyed  up  after  water  was  turned  on. 

Par.  4 — Cost  of  Flume. 

1.  Material. 

(a)  50,000  ft.  lumber  per  mile — cost  $1,500  per  mile. 

(b)  Iron  lining  and   shaping  and  laying  $490.80  per   mile. 
Par.  5— 

2.  Operation. 

(a)  Practically  nil  during  warmer  months;  during  winter,  two  men 

needed  to  clean  out. 

Par.  6— 

3.  Maintenance. 

(a)-    Principal  item  is  sheet  iron;  life  is  about  2  years.    . 

(b)  Life  of  flume  about  14  years. 


2 


o 


Par,  7 — Capacity  of  Flume. 

(a)  Governed  by  volume  and  velocity  of  water.  Flow  of  1.58  cu. 
ft.  per  sec,  will  transport  35  to  45  tons  per  hour  on  minimum 
grade  with  practically  no  cost  for  operation. 


III.     PLAYS. 

In  taking  notes  on  a  play  there  are  no  limits  which  can  be  set.  Here 
again  much  will  depend  upon  the  requirements  of  the  course.  If  one  is 
expected  to  be  familiar  with  the  complete  works  of  certain  authors  or 
with  the  works  of  all  authors  in  a  certain  period  it  might  be  too  much  to 
require  one  to  recall  the  less  important  details.  Often-times  the  plot  is  all 
that  is  necessary  to  remember.  It  is  always  an  advantage  to  have  the  cast 
of  characters  written  down  for  reference.  Perhaps  they  alone  will  suffice 
for  notes  on  certain  plays.  We  give  below  an  example  of  rather  general 
notes.  If  you  have  read  the  play  and  need  some  landmarks  to  distinguish 
it  from  out  the  great  mass  which  you  may  have  read,  these  might  answer. 

lee's  rival  queens 

Cast  of  Characters. 

Alexander  the  Great 
Clytus,  Master  of  horse 
Lysimachus,  Prince  of  blood 
Hepistion,  Alexandria's  favorite 
Cassandra,  Son  of  Antipater 
Polyperchon,  Commander  of  phalanx 
Phillip,  Brother  of  Cassandra 
Thessalus,  the  Median 
Aristunder,  a  Soothsayer 


Lysigambis,  A's  mother 

Statiro,  A's  wife,  daughter  of 

Darius 
Roxana,,A's  first  wife 
Parisatis,  Sister  to  Statira 


PLOT   IN   BRIEF 


STATIRA- 


LYSIGAMBIS 

I 
-ALEXANDER- 


-ROXANA       Parisatis — Lysimachus 


Statira  jealous  of  Roxana,  resolves  to  retire  to  convent  and  never  see 
Alexander  again.  A.  very  much  disturbed  lest  she  carry  threat  into  execu- 
tion. He  promises  fidelity  and  banishment  for  Roxana,  if  she  will  return 
to  him.  She  consents.  Roxana  then  very  angry  from  jealousy,  goes  to 
Statira's  chamber  where  S.  is  awaiting  the  return  of  A.  from  a  feast,  and 
murders  her.  As  A.  arrives  the  dying  S.  begs  him  to  spare  R's.  life.  R. 
also  makes  appeal  because  of  an  unborn  babe  of  which  A.  is  the  father. 

This  is  the  way  one  student  outlined  two  plays  parallel  in  plot.  Mrs. 
Behn's  "The  Town  Fop"  was  based  on  Wilkins'  "Forced  Marriage."  Note 
how  the  diagrammatic  outline  brought  out  the  difference. 


23 


1. — THE    FORCED    MARRIAGE,    BY  WILKINS. 

his  inclination;  forced  by  uncle  to  marry 

I  I 

Clare  Harcop William  Scarborough Kathenne 


kills  herself 


(grows  colder  from 
year  to  year) 

I 

utmost  misery 

I 
united  by 
parson 


Happiness 


2. — THE   TOWN   FOP,    BY   MRS.    BEHN. 
1  2 

—Vows  faith-^     ^Marries— \  3 

Celinda Belmorar Diana Friend-love 


When  news  of  marriage  reaches       refuses 


her,  disguises  herself,  disap 
pears.    "Hence  no  domestic 
tragedy 


to  have 

anything 

to  do  with 

wife.  Uncle 

finally 

relents, 

marriage 

annulled 


(helps  alienate  B.) 


Marriage  with  Celina- 

If  for  special  reasons  detail  is  required,  the  following  notes  on  the 
opening  scene  of  Shakespeare's  King  Lear  might  answer. 

Act  I,  Scene  I,  King  Lear's  Palace. 

Enter  Kent.  Gloster,  and  Edmund 

Kent  and  Gloster  converse — bring  out  fact  that  Lear  is  impartial  to 
either  of  the  sons  in  law,  Dukes  Albany  and  Cornwall,  in  proposed  disposi- 
tion of  Kingdom;  also  that  Edmund  is  illegitimate  son  of  Gloster  just 
returned  from  study  abroad. 

Enter  Lear,  Cornwall,  Albany,  Goneri',  Began,  Cordelia,  attendants 

Lear  divides  Kingdom  in  three  parts  and  in  order  to  see  which  daugh- 
ter shall  get  the  largest  share  he  questions  each  regarding  her  love  for  him. 
Goneril  claims  a  love  which  holds  him  "dearer  than  eye-sight,  space  and 
liberty";  Regan  claims  yet  more:  "to  be  an  enemy  to  all  other  joys  which 
the  most  precious  square  of  sense  possesses";  Cordelia,  partly  because  hon- 
est, partly  because  her  love  is  "more  ponderous  than  my  tongue"  cannot 
please  the  childish,  unreasonable  Lear  who  disowns  her.  The  King  of 
Navarre  alone  of  three  suitors  for  C's.  hand  is  willing  to  accept  her  with- 
out dowry.  Kent  banished  because  he  tries  to  get  L.  to  reconsider  deci- 
sion. Exit  of  C.  and  K.  of  N.,  other  suitors.  Kingdom  divided  into  equal 
parts,  given  to  other  daughters;  L.  to  retain  his  title  and  his  bodyguard. 


24 

Exit  all  but  Regan  and  Goneril,  who  comment  on  the  infirmity  of  L.,  which 
may  be  a  menace  to  them.  They  form  a  compact  to  stand  together  against 
this  danger. 

IV.    POEMS. 

Poems  are  of  two  kinds,  Lyric  and  Narrative.  The  lyric  poem  is  short 
and,  properly,  expresses  a  single  theme  such  as  love,  joy,  sorrow,  hope, 
etc.  There  is  no  story  except  as  one  may  be  conceived  by  the  imagination. 
It  is  simple,  short  and  effective.  Many  students  neglect  it  in  their  notes 
because  of  its  shortness,  and  simplicity.  This  is  a  mistake,  especially  when 
there  are  a  great  many  to  be  read  in  the  course.  One  needs  something  to 
distinguish  them  individually  later.  You  should  at  least  record  the  name 
of  the  particular  poem,  together  with  the  author.  Then  read  the  poem 
carefully  at  least  three  times.  Your  impressions  should  resolve  themselves 
into  one  thought.  "What  is  the  one  theme  of  the  poem?"  you  should  ask 
yourself.  When  you  are  sure  that  you  have  it,  write  it  down,  together 
with  the  conditions  under  which  you  infer  the  thought  was  sung  or  spoken. 
If  the  meter  and  rhyme  are  unusual  better  make  a  note  of  them  also. 

The  narrative  poem  is  almost  as  old  as  history.  It  is  the  early  form 
which  comes  down  to  us  from  a  time  even  before  writing  existed,  when 
folklore,  deeds  of  war  and  valor,  were  hanced  down  from  generation  to 
generation  and  thus  preserved.  It  is  the  story  in  verse,  and  not  unlike 
other  narratives.  You  should  note  every  point  with  an  eye  to  detail  to  the 
same  extent  as  you  do  in  the  play,  the  essay,  or  the  novel.  The  following 
notes  from  the  first  five  books  of  Milton's  Paradise  Lost  will,  we  think,  be 
sufficient  to  show  what  may  be  useful  to  record. 

NOTES  ON  MILTON'S  PARADISE  I,OST. 

Book  I. 

Satan  and  host  writhing  in  burning  lake.  Beelzebub,  the  next  in  rank, 
regards  him  and  makes  comparison  of  his  fallen  fortunes  with  what  he  had 
lost.  Satan  makes  the  best  of  a  bad  matter:  "Better  to  reign  in  Hell  than 
serve  in  Heaven."  Beelzebub  feels  power  of  S.'s  personality  and  predicts 
the  effect  upon  the  host.  Satan  gets  up  and  calls  to  his  men.  They  obey, 
glad  to  find  their  leader  not  in  despair.  Army  assembles  on  the  plain. 
Satan  addresses  them,  incites  them  to  war.  Defiance  expressed  by  Cheru- 
bim in  flaming  swords.  Mammon  leads  hosts  to  a  hill.  Mine  gold  with 
which  to  build  a  temple — Mulciber  the  architect.  Then  all  enter  by  com- 
mand the  capitol,  Pandemonium  to  hold  council.  A  miracle  performed  in 
order  that  all  the  host  can  enter  the  palace. 

Book  II.  . 

Satan  sits  on  throne  in  temple.  Moloch  speaks:  Open  war;  to  arm 
themselves  with  hell-flames  and  fury,  and  charge  Heaven.  If  not  victory, 
revenge.  Belial:  Ignoble  ease  and  peaceful  sloth  in  hopes  that  God  will 
relent.  Mammon:  Build  up  Hell  to  rival  Heaven  in  magnificence.  (Great 
applause  from  multitude).  Beelzebub:  Recommends  an  investigation  of 
newly  created  earth  to  see  if  inhabitants  can  be  made  to  join  forces  with 
them  to  revenge  God.  (All  vote  to  do  this).  Question:  Whom  shall  be 
sent?    Satan  volunteers.    All  begin  exploring  the  region. 

Geography  of  Hell:  4  rivers  empty  into  burning  lake;  Styx  (Hate), 
Acheron    (Sorrow),    Cocytus    (Lamentation),    Phlegethon    (Rage),    Lethe 


25 

(Oblivion),  bound  land,  beyond  a  frozen  region  of  perpetual  storms. 

Satan  sets  out  on  journey,  arrives  at  gates  of  3-fold  brass,  iron,  & 
rock,  guarded  by  Goblin  who  opposes  S.  They  fight.  His  old  mistress 
Sin  interferes.     Their  son  Death  stands  by.     She  unlocks  gate  for  S. 

Book  III. 

God  looks  down  with  joy  on  the  two  first  parents.  Sees  Satan  about 
to  enter  the  Earth,  tells  what  will  be  the  consequence  but  predicts  that  man 
can  be  saved  if  someone  is  willing  to  be  a  ransom.  The  Son  of  God  offers 
Himself.  Accepted  and  advised.  Meanwhile  Satan  alights  on  Limbo  of 
Vanity.  Then  comes  to  Gate  of  Heaven.  Stairs  lead  down  to  Earth. 
S.  changes  into  a  cherub,  meets  Uriel,  asks  way  to  man's  habitation.  U. 
points  to  Paradise. 

Book  IV. 

S.  despairs  as  he  sees  man  so  well  provided  for,  and  realizes  his  own 
fate.  His  emotions  disfigure  features  of  the  cherub  he  pretends  to  be,  and 
betray  him  to  Uriel.  S.  goes  into  Paradise.  Sees  Adam  and  Eve  innocent, 
beautiful  and  happy.  Is  jealous.  Goes  away  to  plan  man's  undoing. 
Meanwhile  Uriel  descends  and  warns  Gabriel.  Two  strong  angels  ap- 
pointed as  guards.  Satan  found  at  the  ear  of  Eve  as  she  lies  asleep.  Taken 
before  Gabriel.     He  defies  them  and  flies  away. 

Book  V. 

Adam  awakes  before  Eve.  She  looks  as  if  she  had  not  slept  well.  He 
wakes  her.  Morning  prayers.  God  speaks  to  Raphael.  Raphael  comes 
down  to  them,  wearing  three  pairs  wings.  Adam  and  Eve  at  mid-day 
meal.  Adam  welcomes  him.  R.  tells  them  of  their  good  fortune,  enjoins 
them  to  make  most  of  it;  "If  ye  be  found  obedient".  Adam  asks  what  he 
means.  G.  te^s  of  the  enemy,  warns  them,  teils  events  of  Satan's  fall. 
First  was  Chaos,  then  Heaven.  Satan  incensed  through  jealousy  of  Son 
whom  God  placed  next  to  Him  in  power.  Gets  legions  together  to  attack 
God.  All  follow  save  Abdiel  who  first  tries  to  dissuade  S.  then  forsakes 
him. 


AFTERWORD 


A  note  as  to  the  preparation  of  this  Bulletin  should  be  added  here. 
Realizing  the  inability  of  most  of  our  students  to  take  satisfactory  notes 
on  lectures  and  outside  reading,  I  asked  Mr.  Maxfleld  to  assemble  some 
examples  oi  good  notes  and  add  to  these  whatever  practical  suggestions 
might  occur  to  him.  At  the  time  of  the  writing  of  this  Bulletin  (Mid- 
winter 1909-1910),  there  was  nothing  on  the  market,  so  far  as  I  know,  in 
the  way  of  an  adequate  discussion  of  this  important  matter  of  note  taking. 
Quite  recently,  however,  an  excellent  pamphlet,  prepared  by  Professor 
Seward,  was  issued  by  Allyn  and  Bacon.  Students  will  find  it  profitable  to 
read   this  book  in  connection   with  the  present   work. 

W.   O.  SYPHERD. 


UHlWElWTVOFIIJLW^^Jf, 


3  0112110180806 


